Search - Ozzy Osbourne :: Under Cover

KARA - OZZY

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 06/15/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, listening to this conjures up visions of a drunken bar patron forcing his way onstage with a covers band and tipping them till they let him sing. How else to explain this flat sounding re-working of classic rock songs from such a seasoned vocalist like Ozzy? One needs only to the current Def Leppard "Yeah!" CD to realize just how lame Ozzy's "Under Cover" is.



Granted, this started life as 1/4 of a box set, where listening to it was an exercise in context. But to hear it as a stand alone document is a marker of declining greatness, and what one supposes is the inability of the Osbourne entourage to warn Ozzy that this really wasn't a very good idea. Ozzy's cover of "Women," a standard by John Lennon, is warbley wandering, a song in search of pitch and devoid of emotional impact. "Rocky Mountain Way" loses its uniqueness. Only on a mere three songs does Ozzy measure up to the material chosen here, and they are "Sympathy For The Devil" (he obviously relates to the subject matter), "Working Class Hero" (singer matches song) and "21'st Century Schizoid Man" (a natural counterpoint to "Iron Man"). Which means that "Under Cover" would have made a heck of a bonus EP for a full length original Ozzy CD. But as a stand alone? Strictly naptime."

Great Job, Ozzy!!

Diogo Schneider | 01/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wonder why Ozzy took so long to release this kind of material. All songs are just what you'd expect Ozzy to cover. The Beatles' 'Woman' by itself is already worth the money. And Ozzy singing 'Sunshine of Your Love' in his own fashion is just marvelous. If you're an old Ozzy fan you must get this album. And don't get me wrong, but this is not for the regular head bangin' teens, indeed."